Dealing with your Judas

So...I sent a devotion to all my coaches and coach's wives yesterday from a Max Lucado book. I got sooooo much feedback and replies that I knew I had to write a blog post about it. Everybody, including the coach's family will feel like they have been betrayed as some point. It may be your friends who betray your trust or the parents of a player who love you one minute but don't the next or the administration that doesn't back you or maybe it is your own family member that has betrayed you. At one point, we will all feel betrayed. How do we deal with such thing? Look to Jesus....

It would be hard to find someone worse than Judas. Some say he was a good man

with a backfired strategy. I don't buy this. The Bible says, "Judas...was a thief (John 12:6)

The man was a crook. Somehow he was able to live in the presence of God and experience

the miracles of Christ and remain unchanged. In the end he decided he'd rather have

money than a friend, so he sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver...Judas was a scoundrel

a cheat, and a bum. How could anyone see him any other way? I don't know, but Jesus

did. Only inches from the face of his own betrayer, Jesus looked at him and said, "Friend,

do what you came to do." (Matthew 26:50) What Jesus saw in Judas as worthy of being

called Friend, I can't imagine. But I do know that Jesus doesn't lie, and in that moment

saw something good in a very bad man...He can help us do the same with those who hurt us

Max Lucado

There are going to be times in our lives where we will be betrayed and we have an opportunity to be bitter or to be better, to fight or to forgive, to put up another wall or choose to see the good in something bad. Believe me, I am the first to admit, I am not the best example in this area especially when it comes to the betrayal of someone I love like my husband and children. My first instinct is to fight back and then put up a wall so they can never betray me again. You know the saying, "betray me once...shame on you. betray me twice shame on me." I will not be a fool. Right? Was Jesus a fool? No! He was able to see the good in what the world saw was bad. He did this in everything from his death on the cross to the ultimate betrayal of one of his own disciples. Once again Jesus isn't asking us to do something he hasn't already done himself. But He is offering to help us do the same when it comes to dealing with our own Judas. "I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength." (Phil 4:13)

Here's to seeing ALL as friends...or at least frenemies (just kidding:)).....

Words I don't like to hear

There are always words that I don't like to hear....For instance, if I am in the other room and I hear the words "uh-oh" or "oops" or "sorry momma"...I know it is not going to be good. I do not like to hear those words. When I my husband says the words "We need to talk" I know I have done something wrong. I don't like to hear those words. When my sister says, "What are you wearing" I know I have just committed a fashion faux peau. I don't like to hear those words. And when Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble..."I do not like to hear those words. It's inevitable, you, me, and everyone else WILL have trouble in this world. Why? Because "this world" is not our home. We will have trouble in our jobs, we will have trouble in our marriage, we will have trouble with our friends, we will have trouble with our children. I am really not trying to depress you, but on the contrary...I want to encourage you.

It is kinda like when my kids decide they are going to jump on me. If I know it is coming, I can brace myself, prepare myself, and it never hurts quite as bad. But if I have no idea it is coming, it definitely hurts a lot more! If we prepare ourselves for the troubles to come...we can brace ourselves and not fear the "if" but get ready for the "when." So how do we prepare?

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

First, your joy comes in the hope we have in Jesus. The hope that He will work our trouble for the good. The hope that He will never leave us or forsake us. The hope that there is NO wasted tears. Second, we must be patient during the storm for "this too shall pass." Maybe you are waiting on an answer from God about your job...be patient. May be you are waiting on your children to come back to God...be patient. Maybe you are waiting on your husband to lead spiritually...be patient. Maybe you are waiting for your house to sell...be patient. Third, be faithful in prayer. Never stop praying....it doesn't have to be these highly spiritual prayers. Many of my prayers are ones of questioning, anger, doubt, confusion and guess what? He hears these prayers just as loud as the Lord's Prayer. That is part of the relationship we get to have with our heavenly father. He is not this "Big man who lives upstairs." No...He is the one true God who is fighting in the trenches with us and for us everyday!

No I don't like the words..."In this world you will have trouble..." But I do love the words..."But take heart! I have overcome this world! (John 16:33) My Jesus (any yours) has overcome this world and because He did, we have the hope we want and the patience we need to get through the troubles we will face.